Strange Emotions
by FortuneDP
Summary: Hate... anger... annoyance. These were the feelings that he felt. But she didn't care. She never did.
1. Realization

Strange Emotions

Chapter One: Realization

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

Lucas prodded the crackling flame gently with a stick, before once again returning his attention to the sleeping girl. Silently, he fished a blanket from his backpack and laid it over the girl, who was already in a thick sleeping bag.

Sighing, he returned back to the fire, sitting down on the snow-covered Route 216. An igloo of ice surrounded him; his Pokémon helped with that. He was on his way to Snowpoint City when he found her.

Dawn.

The bane of his life.

Oh, yes, the girl was possibly the greatest nuisance he would ever meet in his life. Ever since they first met just outside of Twinleaf Town, her happy, giddy, crazy self completely obliterated any sense of control that Lucas had. Just the last time he had seen her, she had drenched him with water, dumped a bowl of rice on his head, and stolen his hat for at least two weeks.

Lucas looked back at the sleeping girl and sighed once again. She had a fever, and a high one at that. He had taken her temperature when he found her, and, sure enough, her temperature was far beyond normal: he had read the temperature as 48°C, about 118°F. Muttering slightly, he grabbed a pot and placed it over the fire after filling it with some water, preparing to make a stew.

In about fifteen minutes, he ladled out some of the stew and brought the bowl up to his mouth.

"Food!"

Choking, Lucas spat out the stew he had just drank. Wiping his mouth, he turned around to see Dawn, perky as usual, coming over to get some stew.

"Something smells good Lucas is it stew I really like stew in fact in winter Mom always used to make it for me whenever I got sick," babbled the girl as she ladled the stew from the pot directly into her mouth, emptying it in less than five minutes.

"Well," he muttered, "you're sick right now."

"Am I?" asked Dawn curiously.

Lucas sighed and grabbed his contaminated thermometer, thrusting it into her mouth. After about three minutes of uncontrollable fidgeting and twitching, Dawn spat it out.

"Well?" prompted the girl as Lucas lifted the end not covered in spit.

"…" Lucas shook his head wearily. Somehow, it didn't surprise him that her temperature was normal now.

"Well, I'll be leaving, Lucas. See you around!" she said cheerfully as she crawled out of the igloo with her things.

Lucas watched her leave before turning back to face the fire.

He sighed.

He couldn't help but feel a twinge in his mind as he saw her again, this time in Hearthome City. She was shopping (predictably) for Seals when Lucas nearly crashed into her.

Averting a near disaster, Lucas dived to the side of Dawn, whose view was completely obscured by shopping bags.

"Oh, Lucas!" she giggled, seeing him to the side. "When did you get here?"

The twinge started again.

"A day ago," he said morosely, adjusting his skewed beret.

Dumping all of her shopping bags on the street (and earning lots of scorning from the citizens of Hearthome City), Dawn leaped to hug Lucas tightly.

That twinge again…

Feelings for Dawn?

Yep.

Dawn let go and tried to organize the bags into a maneuverable load. Lucas, sighing, helped her by assembling the bags into a tall tower.

"Thanks!" she said cheerfully, as she grabbed the base of the stack and tottered away to the Pokémon Center.

"…"

Lucas sighed.

Feelings… Lucas contemplated the word. What normally came to one's mind when thinking of the word in the context of "feelings for another person"?

_Love…adoration…soppiness…_

Lucas shook his head. So that's what his feelings for Dawn were?

_Nope…_

Smiling ironically, he realized one thing. His feelings for Dawn were true. _Very_ true.

Annoyance… from her constant, uncontrolled emotions and actions.

Anger… more subtle. But (and Lucas smiled sadly at the thought) it spawned… only from how she did so much better than him. And how his father never looked at him in a respectable manner.

Oh, yes, it was always, Dawn this, Dawn that, Dawn caught this, Dawn did that. Never did Lucas's father appreciate Lucas's achievements. Only Dawn's.

And Lucas knew that his father regarded him as one thing: a failure.

And he hated Dawn for it.

In Jubilife City, Lucas walked into his dark Pokémon Center room. He flicked on the light switch and –

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" shrieked Dawn, popping out of nowhere.

"Ah!" yelled Lucas, falling backwards and landing flat on his back. "Why are you in my room?"

Dawn giggled and hugged him after he clambered to his feet.

"Nurse Joy let me in since I told her it was your birthday and I was planning a surprise. I can't believe that you're 15, Lucas!"

"You're going to be in a few months," reminded Lucas.

Dawn shrugged.

"Well, let's party!" said Dawn, bringing out a small cake and setting it on the table.

Lucas smiled. Anger…

It was gone.

But there was no way he could fall for a girl like her.

Even though he just did. In more ways than one.

"So," said Lucas, walking with Dawn in Veilstone City. "Would you… well… would you like to…"

"Hey, look!" yelped Dawn excitedly. "CANDY!"

"…"

Lucas sighed.


	2. Battle and Addle

Strange Emotions

Chapter Two: Battle and Addle

Well... I'm not sure. I was going to make this story one chapter, but… I don't know. It's kind of fun… so here's another chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

"Loser has to do whatever winner wants to do!"

"Deal!"

That had been their bet before the final round of the Grand Festival.

And now, as both Coordinators stood on the final stage, the bet burned clear in their mind.

"And now, with Dawn and Lucas as the final Coordinators of this year's Sinnoh Grand Festival, let's let the fun begin!" shouted Marian.

"Rapidash, Piplup, spotlight!"

"Starmie, Beautifly, take one!"

All four Pokémon stood, ready for battle as the clock started.

"Alright, Piplup, use Brine, and Rapidash, use Flame Wheel!" commanded Dawn.

The fiery, spinning Pokémon was covered with the water from Brine, so that a disk of fire and water was hurtling towards Starmie and Beautifly.

"Beautifly, use Silver Wind, and Starmie, use Hydro Pump!" shouted Lucas.

The Brine was torn apart by a strong Silver Wind, while Starmie's Hydro Pump destroyed Rapidash's attack.

"Now, Hidden Power and Swift, just like we practiced!"

Beautifly flew in front of Starmie and glowed, while Starmie began to spin. Small, white orbs were released from Beautifly's wings, while yellow stars were appearing from orbs on each of Starmie's ten limbs. The two attacks combined into a beautiful beam of yellow and white.

"Piplup, on Rapidash! Rapidash, use Bounce, and then Fire Spin on the ground to escape!"

"And Dawn cleverly dodges Lucas's powerful combination, with both of her Pokémon in the air!" shouted Marian.

Lucas grinned.

"Double Psychic!"

Beautifly's eyes glowed bright blue, as did Starmie's core. Their combination suddenly changed course and soared straight up, blasting Rapidash and Piplup before they could do a thing.

"And in a change of events, Lucas's Pokémon manage to use Psychic to change where their attack is going!" shouted Marian. "That's a big point loss for Dawn!"

Dawn glared at the point screen, where Lucas was at about 80% and she was only at 60%.

_I can't lose this! We had a bet!_

"Rapidash, Piplup, are you alright?" she asked, her Pokémon lying on the floor.

They both nodded and slowly clambered back up.

"Alright, let's go! Power and beauty, with Fire Blast and Hydro Pump!"

A huge burst of fire, propelled by a stream of water, crackled with energy as it quickly overcame Starmie and Beautifly.

_Yes!_ thought Dawn, as Lucas's points dropped down to hers.

"And in a quick turnabout, Dawn pulls off a fantastic move by combining two completely opposite elements! Folks, there's only three minutes left on the clock!"

"Starmie, Recover, Beautifly, Morning Sun," said Lucas.

Starmie and Beautifly both shined brilliantly as they restored their health, leaving Dawn dumbfounded.

"Now, show them one of our combinations! Starmie, Rapid Spin and Ice Beam! Beautifly, use Silver Wind!"

The Ice Beam span around Starmie and formed a ring of ice that smashed into Rapidash. Beautifly's Silver Wind, in the meantime, was dodged by Piplup, who used Whirlpool. Starmie continued to spin straight into the Whirlpool, which shattered the Ice Beam, but disintegrated into thin air as well.

"Now, Starmie, Thunder! Beautifly, use Bug Buzz!"

Piplup was met with a sparkling red Thunder.

"Oh, that had to have hurt," winced Marian, as Piplup was engulfed within the electricity. "Big points for that one," she added, as Dawn's points sank to below 40%.

"Let's end this, with SolarBeam and Ice Beam!" finished Lucas.

The two, blinding beams soared into Dawn's helpless Pokemon, finishing off the match with a bang.

Everyone winced again as they saw Dawn's fainted Pokemon.

"Yikes!" said Marian. "With thirty seconds left on the clock, Dawn is finished off!"

Dawn pouted jokingly and burst into laughter.

Lucas did too.

Thirty minutes later, after Lucas had gotten his trophy, the two wandered the shore of Lake Verity, the location of that year's Grand Festival.

"Nice one," congratulated Dawn. "When did you get a Starmie?"

Lucas shrugged.

"I caught a Staryu just off of Canalave City, and I had a spare Water Stone to evolve it with."

They walked in silence for a short while, enjoying the peaceful serenity of the Lake.

"Dawn…"

"Yeah?"

Lucas grinned mischievously.

"What was our bet again?"

"…"

_I had hoped he forgot…_

"What about it?"

A playful grin remained on Lucas's face.

"Well… to start off… don't move until I say you can."

Dawn mentally grimaced, but did as she was told.

_I've never seen Lucas with a smile like that before…_

Lucas leaned in close to Dawn, his face centimeters from hers. He was right next to her ear, still with that playful grin.

Dawn shivered slightly.

_I've never seen him act like this before either…_

"You can move now," he whispered, before running off. "And you've got to come along!" he yelled back, laughing.

Dawn, startled, was paralyzed momentarily.

_What the?_

"Hey, wait up!" shouted Dawn, coming into reality again.

Dawn was panting for breath as she ran into Sandgem Town, trying her best to keep up with Lucas.

_Where is he?  
><em> "Hey, over here!"

Dawn turned her head to see Lucas waving at her. She ran to him and screamed,

"I'm going to flay you to an inch of your life if you don't explain what –!"

Lucas clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Can you be quiet for a moment?"

When she nodded regretfully, he removed his hand, only to grab one of hers and pull her into a house.

"Who's house is this?" she asked, looking around at the quaint furniture.

"Mine."

"…"

_Oh._

"Here, sit down," said Lucas, pulling out a chair for her next to a table in the kitchen. "Hungry?"

Dawn blushed slightly.

"Uh… yeah," she muttered as her stomach rather ruefully gurgled at her.

Lucas laughed and grabbed a pan.

In a few minutes, a simmering stew was poured into a bowl for Dawn.

"Didn't you make this when you found me on Route 216?" asked Dawn, somehow finishing off her bowl of stew at the same time she asked the question.

Lucas nodded.

She quickly gulped the rest of the stew down, and then set the bowl back on the table when she heard quiet footsteps.

"Lukey?" mumbled a little girl, stumbling into the kitchen.

"Hmm? Oh, hey, Lucy!" said Lucas, kneeling down on the floor and picking up the little girl. "Want some stew?"

"That's all you know how to make."

"So?"

The little girl shrugged.

"It's good though."

"Exactly," concluded Lucas, pouring out another bowl for the girl.

"Is this your little sister?" asked Dawn.

"Yeah."

"It's nice to meet you, Lucy," said Dawn, smiling brightly.

The girl stared accusingly at Lucas.

"You nevew intwoduced me to your giwlfwiend!"

Dawn blushed bright red, but Lucas simply laughed it off.

"She's just a normal friend, Lucy."

The girl shrugged, seemingly compliant with this explanation.

"It's nice to meet you too, Dawn," said the girl, before finishing her stew and leaving.

"You never told me you had a little sister," said Dawn, turning away from Lucas.

"Yeah, sorry about that," said Lucas. "Are you really that mad?"

"What? Why would I be mad?"

"Well… you're not looking at me?"

"So? I'll look in any direction I want, thank you very much."

The blush that Dawn was trying so hard to conceal flared again at Lucas's comment.

"Well, you're welcome to do anything you want now," said Lucas. "I'm done with the bet."

"Really?"

"No."

"…"

_He sucks._


	3. Complications

Strange Emotions

Chapter Three: Complications

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

Pure bliss.

Dawn collapsed into those strong arms, laying her head gently on his chest. She tilted her head up to look at his face and –

"Dawn, it's time to get up."

"Huh?"

Dawn groggily emerged from a nest of sheets on her bed at the sound of her mother's voice calling her to breakfast. She stared at her surroundings blankly, not recognizing her room momentarily. Then, she remembered her dream.

So vivid, so real. She had had the same dream for the past two weeks now. It always stopped right before she saw the person's face, either interrupted by her mother or alarm clock. And, after the endless week of questioning, she really wanted to know who he was.

But…

She was pretty sure she had a clue.

"See you, Mom," yelled Dawn after finishing her breakfast.

"What are you doing today, honey?"

"Uh… we're just hanging out."

"Uh-huh."

Dawn glared at her mom after she made that sarcastic comment.

"Oh, Mom, when is it going to be the last time that I have to tell you that he's my friend, not my boyfriend?"

"Never."

"…"

_Of __course. __Mrs. __Sarcastic __herself. __How __could __I __compete?_

Dawn leapt out of the doors and onto her bike, before storming off for Sandgem Town.

Johanna watched her daughter leave.

And grinned.

"So, what're we doing today?" asked Dawn when she met up with Lucas.

The boy shrugged.

"Anything, I guess."

"How 'bout the beach?"

"Sounds good."

The two arrived at the beach next to Sandgem Town in a few paltry minutes. They simply walked on the shore line, talking about this and that, letting the refreshing, cool water wash over their bare feet. Then, Dawn tripped.

"Whoa!"

A rock grabbed onto Dawn's foot and sent her tumbling straight into the unfortunate Lucas. They splashed into the water together, soaking themselves.

Lucas found himself staring at the girl, who was tightly clinging to his shirt. She slowly lifted her head, blue hair melded together in neat curls by the water, and giggled a bit, noting that they were both drenched.

He couldn't resist it.

He dived forward, smashing his lips to hers in a startling, fierce kiss. His momentum carried them both even further into the shallow water, where Dawn was struggling against him.

Finally, Dawn broke free from Lucas and got up, shocked.

"Lucas – what? No… this isn't…"

Her words were spasmodic, and she quickly ran away, leaving the boy lying in the water…

Dawn quickly opened her house door and smashed it shut, knocking out the glass. She flew upstairs to her room, where she changed into clean clothes and sat down confusedly on her chair.

"Dawn?"

The girl didn't turn at her mother's voice.

"Why were you drenched? And why did you break the door?"

Dawn was still speechless.

Johanna sighed, and retreated from her daughter's room.

Time was all she needed.

Meanwhile, Lucas trooped home dispiritedly, dripping water.

"Lucas?"

Lucy opened the door for him, curiously pondering the possibilities of what happened to get her big brother wet.

Lucas sighed.

"Thanks," he muttered to his sister as she held the door for him, before retreating to the sanctuary of his bedroom.

_I __can__'__t __believe __that __I __just __did __that, _thought Lucas as he collapsed onto his bed in fresh clothes. _I __can__'__t __believe __it._

_I __can__'__t __believe __he __just __kissed __me,_ thought Dawn incredulously, staring blankly at her desk. _I __can__'__t __believe __it!_

_ But… I enjoyed it… while it lasted._

The two, stricken teenagers moaned.

_What__'__s __going __on?_

Lucas fiercely scribbled words down on a piece of paper, before trashing it. He moaned. Writing was a favorite pastime of his and could take his mind off of nearly everything. But… that was the problem. _Nearly _everything.

_Dawn__… __Dawn__… __Dawn__…_

She kept appearing everywhere. He would be writing, and then happen to find himself recording the adventures they shared. Or, he would be thinking about ideas, and the idea of the girl would pop into his head. Or… a million other things.

And her reaction to when he kissed her…

He couldn't stand it.

The way that she looked at him, afraid and shy. But also that glimmer of surprise and (dare he believe it?) excitement.

He didn't know.

Love was just too complicated.

Sadly, he put down his favorite pen; one of the best brands of fountain pen in Sinnoh, and, making it even more special, a gift from Dawn. He loved the pen, just because Dawn had went out to buy it for him and give it to him. He even remembered her saying,

"I know you love writing… so I got you this!"

And now…

Lucas looked at the pen queerly, and picked it up again. He grabbed one more piece of paper, and began to draw.

After a good thirty minutes, a profile of Dawn stood on the paper. Lucas filled in the last line, a stray strand of her beautiful hair…

And then ran out of ink.

Dawn's mother poked her head into her daughter's room again.

"Dawn?"

Dawn was resting her head on her desk, her hair splayed wildly.

"Dawn?"

A grunt.

"Uh… do you mind telling me what happened?"

A mumble.

"What?"

"How can I tell you what happened when I don't even know myself…"

"Uh…"

"Lucas kissed me, Mom! _Kissed __me!__"_

"And this is a surprise, why?"

Dawn turned around despairingly.

"Oh, Mom, don't treat this like a joke. He really did. And I have no idea why."

"Ever think that he might _like _you?"

"…"

Johanna sighed.

_Talk __about __a __troubled __love __life,_ thought Johanna wryly.

"Well… just consider this. Maybe you like him too."

And with that, Johanna left.

Dawn fingered a strand of her hair slowly. Gulping, she quietly admitted something that she swore she would never say to anyone else.

"Maybe…"


	4. Risen and Fallen

Strange Emotions

Chapter Four: Risen and Fallen

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

"I'll avoid him till the end of time," Dawn muttered, clearly annoyed that a certain boy was following her so much that she was tempted to file a restraining order.

She took a quick glance over her shoulder to see that familiar scarf fluttering in the wind as the boy attempted to keep up behind her. Dawn simply sped up and was determined to get back to her secure, beautiful, comfortable sanctuary (The Official Dictionary of Dawn Speech. Secure, beautiful, comfortable sanctuary: n. The building known as a "home", the usual term used to refer to a person's place of residence, "home" being the term generally used by normal people).

She was almost at Twinleaf Town, just a few steps away from the entrance. A few more steps and she would be safely hidden within her sanctuary where the idiotic boy would never find her.

"Dawn, wait!"

At the call, which was the first thing that the boy had said since he started following her earlier that day, Dawn fled wildly into her sanctuary, refusing to even look at the boy that scared her to death.

She slammed the screen door shut, and then the actual door, making sure to remind herself to add ten more locks to the 90 locks she already had attached to the door as she pulled, clasped, and generally locked all 90 locks in one minute.

Gasping, Dawn slid down the wall of the door and rested briefly.

"Not only did I successfully evade him, I've got a record time for closing all those locks!" said Dawn cheerfully as she clambered back to her feet.

She turned around to peer into the eyehole and jumped back, stifling a possibly very loud scream. A huge, distorted eye had stared back at her.

She fled again, this time to her room, her precious, small, sanctuary-within-a-sanctuary. She locked the 100 locks on that door and collapsed onto her bed.

Only to be shocked by a humongous Water Pulse that smashed into her window.

And the doorbell ringing constantly.

"Dawn, why didn't you get the door?" asked Dawn's mother, speaking through Dawn's thoroughly locked door as she passed Dawn's room, going to get the visitor to let him in.

Dawn moaned as she heard her mother slowly unlocking all 90 locks downstairs and quickly fled into her rather large closet (The Official Dictionary of Dawn Speech. Rather large closet: n. Refers to the area in which Dawn keeps her clothes. Is about the size of a large dinosaur, and takes up most of the house's space. It is also used by Dawn as an emergency escape route that leads into the forest behind her house.).

Dawn quickly pulled open the door that led into her closet, locked the door with the 150 locks attached to it (The reasons for making this door especially locked: 1. It was her closet; her clothes were there. 2. It led to her secret escape route. 3. Her clothes were in there.).

She yanked open one more door that led to her secret passageway and locked that door (surprisingly, this door only had 1 lock; she didn't think that many people would be able to get beyond her other doors) before fleeing down the stairwell and out the last door that led into the forest.

She quickly peered around the edge of her house to see if the boy was there; sure enough, he wasn't. He was probably in the house. Dawn smirked; she wondered if the boy would be able to even think of how sneaky she was when it came to her personal safety.

She slowly crept around to the front entrance of her house, planning on sneaking away to Sandgem Town, where she could hide with Professor Rowan. Smirking again, she straightened up momentarily, wondering how she could be so brilliant.

"…"

Dawn felt an oppressive atmosphere gather around her, centralized on the back of her head. She felt the furious glare of two rather familiar eyes. And by "furious glare", she meant _furious_.

"Care to explain the meaning of locking up the front door completely, and then locking up your room completely, and then locking up your closet completely, and then locking up your escape route?" asked a scarily calm voice.

Dawn quickly got back into her original crouching position before she stood straight up, wincing.

"Why don't you come back in the house? You've got a visitor, after all," continued the voice, still in that scary, calm tone.

Dawn gulped and slowly turned around (still crouching, somehow), and looked up at the familiar eyes of her mother.

"Um… Hi, Mom!"

Dawn soon found herself thrown onto the sofa to await her "guest" (The Official Dictionary of Dawn Speech. "Guest": n. Used in this context with two quotations around it, the meaning of "guest" is equivalent to that of the word "torturer".)

"Dawn! There you are!

Dawn slowly tilted her head up to look at the familiar boy with the scarf and demon horns.

Sure enough, there he stood.

"DAWN! YOU STILL OWN ME 10 MILLION!" screamed Barry.

"Shut up and go away, because I don't plan on giving up any money to you," sighed Dawn, clapping her hands over her ears to prevent herself from going deaf.

"BUT YOU HAVE TO GIVE UP REWARD MONEY IF I WIN AGAINST YOU IN A BATTLE!"

A crazed look entered the blond boy's eyes.

"I CHALLENGE YOU TO A BATTLE!"

Dawn stood up abruptly.

"Never mind; here," said Dawn, pulling out 10 million Pokédollars and slapping them into Barry's astonished hands.

"Huh?"

Dawn left the house, followed once again by a still surprised Barry.

"You… refuse to battle me?"

"No duh."

"…"

"…"

"Well, at least I got my 10 million!"

"Oh shut uuuuuuuuuuuuuu—Oh crap."

Rounding the familiar road leading into Twinleaf Town was none other… than the boy she kissed. Or rather… the boy that had kissed her.

"Crap, crap, crap, crap!" Dawn whispered, mortified as here heart immediately started to beat faster, sending waves of heat rushing up to her face.

She turned around, and performed an act of desperation, something that she would never do normally, but, hey, desperate times call for desperate measures, right?

She turned around, and kissed Barry…

All Lucas knew was that he had to apologize to Dawn and simply hope for the best. He didn't exactly realize that when he rounded the corner, smirking at his ingenious idea of apologizing, he would find the girl that he was currently in love with slobbering on his other best friend's mouth.

"Uh…"

Lucas turned right back around in a sharp U-turn and left the town.

Dawn removed herself from Barry and turned around.

"Whew," she sighed.

She turned back around to face Barry, only to find a statue of blank expression dressed in Barry's clothes.

"Um… Hello?"

She waved a hand in front of his face.

"WOOT, WOOT!" yelled Barry, leaping into the air. "NOW THAT YOU'VE FINALLY KISSED ME, LET'S GO ON A DATE!"

He grabbed Dawn's arm and pulled her out of the town, ignoring all of her strange, choked protests.

Johanna stepped out of her house after unlocking all of the doors and saw only Barry dragging her daughter away.

In her mind, there were three possibilities: 1. Dawn hadn't paid Barry's fines, and Barry was taking her to jail, 2. Barry was challenging Dawn to a Pokémon battle, and 3. Dawn had done something stupid, and gotten herself into a whole lot of trouble. After thinking for a while, she decided that one of those options was the most likely.

You guessed it.

3.


	5. Exasperation, Preparation, Initiation

Strange Emotions

Chapter Five: Exasperation, Preparation, Initiation

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.

Lucas silently slipped back into his house, before disappearing to his room. He was burning up; to think, he was feeling jealous over the girl that he had once hated. Anger, embarrassment, and envy were radiating off of him in copious amounts.

A thermometer was stuck into his room. It read ten degrees above the normal temperature of the house.

"Lucas? You're going to make the air conditioner blow up if you keep stewing in your room," said Lucy, his little sister, timidly from the doorframe, retracting her small thermometer. She had an uncanny ability of knowing when her brother was upset.

"Ha-ha," Lucas said sarcastically.

Lucy smiled. He was calming down. She figured that he would be okay in a few hours… if the air conditioner was still working by then…

"So, what's up?" Barry asked suddenly.

He had dragged Dawn successfully all the way to Lake Verity, screaming "YAY!" the entire way (and introducing a new kind of ear trauma to the passerby). He looked at her curiously.

"What do you mean?" asked Dawn sullenly.

"Well… you kinda… well…" Barry rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's pretend that never happened, and we'll be okay."

"Sure," Barry said quickly. "But what happened to Lucas?"

"What do you mean?" asked Dawn, quickly on guard.

"Well… I saw him as we were leaving Twinleaf…"

"So what?"

"He looked kinda angry."

"He was probably just thinking about something."

"Angrily?"

"…"

"Seriously, Dawn, what happened? I don't believe that you would just… kiss me like that for no reason."

"You really should mind your own business."

"Okay."

Dawn whipped around. Barry was gone.

"Huh?"

"See ya!" said Barry, leaving Lake Verity as coolly as he could, trying to hide a fit of laughter.

"What are you up to…?"

Dawn realized something.

"MY 10 MILLION POKÉDOLLARS! BARRY, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU IF YOU DO NOT GIVE THEM BACK RIGHT NOW!"

"Heh…" laughed Barry weakly as he stepped into the boundaries of Twinleaf Town, Dawn's screams reverberating within range of the town. Somehow, he didn't think he should have taken her money.

"Oh, hello, Barry."

Johanna opened the front door, to be confronted by the blond boy again.

"Hi, how are you, now tell me what happened between Dawn and Lucas please."

"What?"

Barry repeated his statement slower, as though talking to a young child.

"Hi, how are you? Now, tell me what happened between Dawn and Lucas please."

"Uh… I'm not sure if Dawn would like that information to get out publicly –"

"PLEASE?"

"Barry, I don't think –"

"PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE?"

"Barry, please – oh, now you've got me started."

"PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE?"

"Only if you promise to help."

"I PROMISE! NOW TELL ME!"

"Okay, come on in," sighed Johanna as she herded the boy into the house, many of her neighbors staring openly at the screaming boy. "You don't need to embarrass yourself… or me, for that matter," muttered Johanna.

Barry sat on the couch as Johanna began to explain. Unfortunately, he found that it was rather hard to just sit; he fidgeted endlessly, and by the time Johanna was finished with the story, he had wound up in the kitchen.

"So that's what happened…" said Barry.

"Yes."

"Okay, bye!" said Barry, grabbing an orange from a fruit bowl and leaving – not.

"Oh, no you don't," said Johanna, grabbing Barry. "You promised you would help."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't."

"No, you didn't."

"What are you talking about? Of course I promised I would help you!"

"Hah, see!" said Johanna triumphantly, snatching back the orange and expertly throwing it to Glameow, who was passing by. Glameow peeled the orange in a flash with a Shadow Claw attack, before slashing at it, imagining that it was Barry's face.

"My rug!" yelped Johanna, reaching for paper towels as Barry said,

"Oops," as he realized what he just said. "I mean, no, I didn't."

"Oh, stop it and listen to my plan…"

"Are you sure that's a good plan?" asked Barry, slightly unnerved by Johanna's daring.

"Nope! It will either go well, or go badly. Either way, you'll get the credit."

"But I don't want the credit!" whined Barry. "What if it goes badly? They'll kill me!"

"Well, what if it goes well? We just need to trust in Mesprit!"

"See! Dragging a Legendary Pokémon into this doesn't exactly seem like the best idea."

"Oh, whatever. Just get started."

"Okay! I'll start right away!"

"Alright, see you, Barry," said Johanna, waving the boy out of her house. She spotted a stack of bills. "Hey, I think you forgot Dawn's 10 million Pokédollars," said Johanna.

"Oh, thanks!" said Barry, relieved that he remembered to charge back into the house to snatch the money. Looking up, he saw Johanna's disapproving expression.

"Oh… I mean… I didn't forget to take the money, but you were right, I forgot to mention it; I was just taking it to give to you so you could… safeguard it! Heh," said Barry weakly, slapping the bills into Johanna's hands and leaving for Sandgem Town.

Unfortunately for him, Dawn was arriving back in Twinleaf Town just as he was leaving. Reaching out with an arm, Dawn blocked the route out. Barry, charging at full speed, crashed into her arm, resulting in some bone damage (to Dawn's arm or Barry's ribcage, no one knew…).

"Well, hello there," said Dawn sweetly. "Did you hear me when I said that I would kill you?"

"Uh… Yes," said Barry rather unwittingly. "I mean, no! I mean – I don't have your money!" shrieked Barry, panicking and leaping away like a frightened rabbit.

"Uh-huh," scoffed Dawn furiously, reaching out and choking Barry by grabbing his green scarf. "I'm gonna make you pay."

"With money or with my life?" asked Barry weakly.

"You take a pick."

Barry gulped.

"I think I'd prefer if it was money."

"Too bad."

Johanna watched amusedly as Dawn pummeled the boy into the ground. Then again, most of the town was watching with avid interest.

Barry hobbled off five minutes later, determined to get to Sandgem Town, even if he was sporting two black eyes, a few fractures, and a few broken bones when he arrived…

"Idiot," muttered Dawn as she burst back into her house.

"Here you go," said Johanna, grinning slightly as she handed over the 10 million Pokédollars.

"Thanks, Mom," said Dawn, grabbing the bills and shoving them into her room somewhere safe (the key word in this sentence: "somewhere". Just where that "somewhere" is will be unknown till the end of time…).

"By the way," said Johanna, preparing to run as she stepped by Dawn's room, "I told Barry everything."

"You WHAT?"

Johanna almost managed to use Teleport as she leaped into her own room, quickly barring it off by locking all 90 locks (that had previously been located on the front door) on her room's door.

"HOW COULD YOU, MOM!"

"…"

"AND WHERE ARE THE FRONT DOOR'S LOCKS?"


	6. Meetings, Greetings, Closings

Strange Emotions

Chapter 6: Meetings, Greetings, Closings

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon

BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM!

Lucas growled and got up, going to the door and ripping it open furiously.

"BARRY, SHUT UP!" roared Lucas.

Barry stopped.

"Hey!"

"I'm not exactly in the mood to talk to you right now…"

"Oh, that's fine," said the blonde boy airily, walking into Lucas's house. "I'll just ramble instead."

"Get out of my house."

"Why should I?"

"If you don't, I'll have Torterra use Leaf Storm on you."

"…"

Barry paled.

"By the way, why do you look like you were just run over?" asked Lucas, shutting the door and guiding Barry to the kitchen, giving the boy a glass of water.

"Dawn," shrugged Barry, wincing slightly as his bruises and bones stung.

"Oh… Huh? But – she kissed you," stammered Lucas.

"So?"

"…"

"Well, this is awkward."

"Barry, why are you here," sighed Lucas, bringing a normal conversation back into being.

"Oh, no reason. Just to tell you that Professor Rowan needs you at Lake Verity."

"What?"

"Professor Rowan wants you to meet him at Lake Verity."

"Why did he ask you to tell me?"

"Because I was at Lake Verity and he saw me."

"…"

"…"

"Alright, then."

"Sweet!"

"Lucy," called Lucas, "keep a watch on Barry."

"Okay!" came the childish call of his little sister as Lucas grabbed his blue coat and left the house, fixing his scarf.

"Keep a watch on me?" said Barry disbelievingly. "What does he think I'll do, destroy the house?"

Lucy appeared in the kitchen doorframe, holding two items.

"Okay, Mr. Barry, please hold still," said Lucy as she approached the older boy. "Big brother told me to keep a watch on you."

"Uh, yeah…?"

That didn't exactly explain why the little girl was armed with a large bottle of fast-drying superglue and a small Pokémon watch.

…

Or did it?

"AIYEEEEEEHHHH!"

Lucas chuckled on Route 101 as he realized, at the scream, what his little sister probably thought he meant.

"I really should make myself clearer," said Lucas as he mentally pictured what was going on in his house.

He passed Twinleaf Town, and felt a twinge as he glimpsed Dawn's house.

"To think… she's in there," sighed Lucas.

Well now… It couldn't hurt to be a few minutes late to Lake Verity, could it?

…

"Coming!" said Johanna, going to open the door.

"Hello," said Lucas politely to a shocked Johanna. "May I see Dawn?"

"Uh… I'm not exactly sure…"

"What?"

"Well," Johanna covered quickly, "she went to Lake Verity."

"Oh… well, thanks for telling me."

"Sure! No problem!" smiled Johanna, ushering the boy out of the town.

Back in her own house, she collapsed from nervousness onto her couch.

"That was a close one," sighed Johanna.

"What was a close one, Mom?"

Dawn fixed her mother with a curious look.

"Well?" prompted Dawn.

"Oh, hey!" cried Johanna enthusiastically. "Alright, you look bored. You are aren't you?"

"I'm not really bored…"

"Good, you're bored!" said Johanna happily, ignoring Dawn. "Alright, you're going to go to Lake Verity by yourself! Isn't that exciting?"

"Mom… I've been going to Lake Verity by myself for over 6 years now," pointed out Dawn. "It's not that exciting."

"Well, I've packed you a delicious dinner for this trip!" cried Johanna.

"You always pack me food whenever I go to the lake, no matter if it's breakfast, lunch, or dinner."

"Uh…"

"So?"

"Just go," Johanna said, irritated, as she handed her daughter a basket of food and booted her out of the house.

"Sheesh," said Dawn, rubbing her back where she tumbled. "What's next, you catapulting me all the way to Snowpoint City?"

Realizing that the house was completely barred off, she sighed and decided that she might as well just go to Lake Verity. After all, it would be quite a waste if she didn't, wouldn't it? It was such a sunny day, a few peaceful clouds in the sky, the sunset would probably look gorgeous over the calm, peaceful, serene lake, she had great delicious food, she wanted to relax – alright, she was going to go. She couldn't resist that.

Unfortunately for her, she got one more thing that she couldn't exactly resist when she appeared at Lake Verity.

Yeah, him.

"Professor Rowan?" called out Lucas. "Barry told me you needed me. Professor?"

Dawn watched him as he sat down on the grassy area near the sandy shore.

"Why did Barry say that Professor Rowan was here?" muttered Lucas.

Dawn decided that the best thing to do was probably just to leave the lake while she had a chance… except for the unlucky fact that her mother just _happened_ to have somehow managed to stuff a very noisy alarm into the dinner basket.

"Marshmallows!" whispered Dawn as Lucas looked up, startled at the sound of the beeping alarm. "Mom, you suck!"

"Dawn?" he said slowly, almost as though to gage her reaction. "What are you doing here?"

Well, she couldn't exactly just run now, could she?

Turning around, she decided that the best idea would be to pretend that she didn't notice the boy before.

"Oh, hello, Lucas!" she said cheerily… too cheerily. "I didn't notice you before!" said Dawn, fishing in her basket, finding the still beeping alarm, turning it off, and (for good measure) throwing the annoying device into the lake.

"Uh… hi?"

Dawn walked over nervously and sat next to the boy.

Cue the awkward silence…

Yep.

"Look," said Lucas hesitantly, "I've wanted to apologize to you."

"…"

"I know that what I did was stupid and that you probably will never forgive me, but I'm asking you to. Please, don't just ignore me."

"Lucas…"

"Please, Dawn. You know that I like you. If you want everything to go back to the way it was, I'm fine with that. As long as you don't completely leave me out of your life."

Dawn turned her head away from Lucas, eyes brimming with tears.

"Please don't cry."

How did he know everything about her? How could he tell?

She did her best to wipe the tears away before turning back to him.

"Come on, Dawn."

"I just don't want to lose… to lose…"

"To lose what?"

Lucas knew what she was going to say: the word "you".

"Myself."

Lucas somehow managed to trip sitting down and ended up headfirst in the sand.

"What?" he spluttered.

"I don't want to lose myself to you. I don't want to get lost."

Dawn spilled out the reasons she had been holding and Lucas listened patiently. And finally, just as he had expected earlier,

"I don't want to lose you."

"I promise you, you won't ever lose me," said Lucas. "Ever."

Dawn looked over to Lucas, who gazed at her with such an intense look that she felt as though she were burning.

"Lucas…"

He slowly leaned towards her, as she did the same.

"Will I really never lose you?"

"Never," breathed Lucas, before closing the gap between their lips.

Almost.

"ARGGGH, LUCAS I WILL NEVER FORGET THIS!" screamed Barry, running into Lake Verity with a determined small girl chasing him down.

"Lucas told me to keep a watch on you, so please stop running everywhere before I can fasten the watch to you!" begged Lucy as she, with her youthful energy, neared Barry from behind.

"…"

"…"

Lucas and Dawn looked at each other and blushed simultaneously.

"Well, well, well, it looks like we didn't need Mesprit after all," said Johanna to herself quietly, hiding in a tree (yes, _in_ a tree. Not behind one.).

Lucas and Dawn laughed as Lucy tackled Barry and emptied the two gallon bottle of superglue on the whimpering boy before latching the watch to his wrist.

Lucas and Dawn laughed as the glue dried in seconds, immobilizing Barry, fixing a watch to him, and also fixing him to the ground.

Lucas and Dawn…

Lucas watched her joyful face and slowly slipped his hand over hers.

Her laughter died down as she felt the light contact, and she looked over at Lucas with a questioning look.

"You'll never lose me," breathed Lucas.

"And I'll never lose myself," sighed Dawn in relief.

Lucas laughed.

"Oh, you'll never lose me either," joked Dawn.

And, ignoring the cries of, "LUCAS, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" and the repeated flashings of a camera from a seemingly normal tree, Lucas and Dawn clasped hands, and neared their heads together…

They got up, and left Lake Verity.

Johanna's hand froze and stopped the clicking and flashes of the camera.

Barry stopped shouting, stunned as the two walked away, hand in hand.

Lucy smiled lazily in the faint breeze.

Lucas and Dawn disappeared from the lake.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" screamed Barry. "I WENT THROUGH ALL THIS FOR _NOTHING_?"

"I'm surprised they didn't even kiss," said Johanna rather bemusedly.

"THIS IS SO LAME! AND NOW I'M STUCK TO THE GROUND FOR ETERNITY UNLESS SOMEONE GETS THIS GLUE OFF OF ME WITHOUT KILLING ME!"

"…"

"Hey, look," said Lucy, giggling and pointing at a small pink and gray creature that suddenly floated out of the center of the lake without even causing a ripple.

Johanna and Barry gaped at Mesprit.

The Legendary Pokémon flew over to float in front of the humans, eyes curious.

Telepathically, they heard three words.

_Am I late?_

"…"

"Wonderful."

END

Author's Note:

Wow, to think that this spurred from a simple one-shot that I originally planned! I hope that any readers of this enjoyed the story. I hope that you thought it was funny... I did, but then again, I'm the author. Oh yeah... here's a question.

Sequel, anybody? =)

If anyone actually bothers to read this, there's a poll for a sequel on my page. Not that I'm making you vote or anything... but it'd be nice if you did. =)


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